I've learnt that
I crave freedom like it's fuel
To power my mind, my heart, my bloodstream
but I've also learnt that to be free is to be wholly unafraid
It's day eighteen of my living out in the wilderness but I still haven't once stayed out alone in the dark
Although I might appear free to you
With only the few items in my charcoal gregory backpack
Climbing up to the summits and down again
Sitting naked by the ponds and chasing the sunsets
Lost in thought as I walk the length of the trail
Internally, I am swarming with fear
but tonight as the sky darkens and the trees fold over my head and I hear only the chirping of the birds
The little pattering of the chipmunks and the cuspy winds
I refuse to be afraid of the dark
No, I won't crawl right into my tent and wait for morning
No, I'll stay here in the wild
And oscillate between stillness and dancing
Under the vastness of the night sky
Warming myself in just my orange sleeping bag
Because I know that my freedom is born only once my fear dies
And so tonight I am being born again
Under the stars
Alone and unafraid
Tonight, right now
I am letting the fear die out
Just a little
Just enough
For me to be born free again